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Friday

Make a Lavender Wand

By the beginning of summer, you should have enough lavender up and ready to make lavender wands. Lavender wands are always popular gifts for birthdays and around the holidays. I make a big batch during the summer, and tie them into my Christmas gift bows. These wands are an aromatic addition to a lingerie or linen drawer, closet, or laundry room. Lavender permeates the area in which a wand is placed. It's an ingenious way to add a little lavender to your life. They're easy to make too.

Another advantage is that working with all that lavender will relax your body and spirit, which is not a bad way to spend an afternoon.

What You'll Need to Weave a Lavender Wand

7 to 15 lavender stems in bud for each wand. Select an odd number of stems. The more stems you have, the easier it is to conceal the buds inside the cylinder you're creating.

Lengths of attractive ribbon 1/8" to 1/4" wide. The width is a design choice. I prefer 1/8". Until you know the length that works for you, don't cut the end.

Pair of scissors

Toothpick

Special Note: The more bud stems you use, the chubbier your wand will be. I like to use between seven and nine stems, depending on how many I have available. I prefer to keep my wands streamlined. To avoid bulk, I try to spread my buds along the inside of the wand.

Another approach is to have a big bulge (bottle) in your wand where the buds are - this is great too. Some people like to have lots of buds in wands that look like little torpedos. The fatter the better. This type of wand is very fragrant. If you'd like to make a wand with a big bottle, use 15 or so stems, and space them evenly around your lavender bouquet. The link goes to a picture of a chubby wand: Lavender Wands and Lavender Bottles

Instructions for Making a Lavender Wand

Make a small bouquet of your stems. Tie them securely with a length of ribbon. Strip the leaves so that the stems are smooth. Turn the bouquet upside down and bend the lavender stems down around the bouquet, being careful not to tear or snap the stems. It's easier if your lay the tip of your thumb nail at the edge of the stem and bend where your nail and the stem meet. This helps to keep the stems from shredding.Tuck the short end of the ribbon into the center of the bouquet where it will be out of view, and free the long end of the ribbon from the stems. As you bend each stem, weave the ribbon over or under it. Space your stems around the bouquet.

Work your way around the wand in rows. Snug and tighten the ribbon as you go. If buds start poking out, push them back in place with a toothpick.

Keep going around until you achieve a pleasing length. I like about a third of the length of the wand. Some people like to weave the entire length of the wand. I prefer to weave for a few inches, and then crisscross ribbon the rest of the way.

Trim the ends of the stems, and add ribbons to both the bottom of the woven section, and the bottom of the crisscrossed section.I try to make the bottom bow large enough to fit over a door handle if necessary. Oh, I also like to add a dry sprig of lavender to one of the bows.

I leave completed wands in a cool dark place for three to four days to dry. Your wand's fragrance can last for months.

Once you have your supplies together, it only takes a few minutes to complete a wand. The first one can be tricky. It gets easier after that.

Special Tips on Making Lavender Wands

When you cut your lavender, get the longest stems you can find. This will give you enough length to stagger where you want your buds to line up inside the wand.

Your hands get almost sticky as you work and can make it harder to weave the ribbon. Stop occasionally to wash your hands and the weaving will go more easily.

If I can't get my bows to stay put, I've been known to use glue.

Be sure to pull the ribbon snug as you weave it through the stems. The lavender will lose a little mass as it dries, so your weaving will be looser once the wand has cured.

As you are bending a stem, if you accidentally tear a section, as long as it hasn't completely detached, you can pull the stem down a tiny bit and try again.

Once your lavender wand does lose its fragrance, you can refresh it by adding some lavender oil to the dry stems. Try applying four drops of lavender essential oil to the cut ends of the stems and turning your wand upside down to let the oil travel deep into it.

Lavender wands are truly a favorite, and you'll find if you try this craft, that people will begin asking for them from year to year.

If you want to start a craft tradition by making an elegant, inexpensive gift that always pleases the recipient and is easy to construct, lavender wands are for you.

That was so beautiful! I can't wait to try making some wands. My niece went to the Ojai lavender festival and brought one back that she had made. It smelt so heavenly that I wanted one for myself there and then, but of course I could not have one.